Rush for Start-up Grants Takes Game and Foundation by Surprise

The Stiftung Digitale Spielekultur received over 1,000 applications for the “Press Start: Games Foundation Scholarship.” Under the direction of Linda Kruse, the multi-stage selection process has begun and is expected to provide clarity for all applicants by Christmas.

Interested parties had until November 17 to apply for the new “Press Start: Games Foundation Grant” program, which is funded by the Federal Government Commissioner for Culture and the Media (Bundeskulturstaatsministerin). The Stiftung Digitale Spielekultur (Digital Game Culture Foundation), which manages the process in collaboration with game (The German Games Industry Association), has been entrusted with selecting a total of 130 founders.

As the partners announced at the start of the jury’s work, the program attracted significant interest. “We did not expect such a high demand. Now we have a lot of work ahead of us, but thanks to the excellent jury, we will master it well,” said Nandita Wegehaupt, managing director of the Stiftung Digitale Spielekultur. According to the foundation, over 1,000 applications were submitted for the program.

The jury, chaired by Linda Kruse—founder and managing director of The Good Evil and a former game board member—includes a diverse group of industry professionals:

• Thomas Bedenk (bedenk.de/sign)
• Valentina Birke (Super Crowd Entertainment)
• Mona Brandt (Freelancing UI/UX/Game Design)
• Marek Brunner (Unterhaltungssoftware Selbstkontrolle – USK)
• Lena Falkenhagen (Author and Game Writer)
• Manuel Fritsch (Insert Moin / IGN Deutschland)
• Adrian Goersch (Black Forest Games)
• Tobias Graff (Mooneye Studios)
• Daniel Helbig (Megagon Industries)
• Sebastian Hollstein (I knew It! – Games / Hochschule Luzern)
• Jan Klose (game Hessen)
• Ulrike Küchler (Gamebook Studio HQ)
• Ruth Lemmen (Interim Management + Coaching)
• Michael Liebe (Booster Space Events & Consulting)
• Benjamin Lochmann (Pixel Maniacs)
• Jennifer Pankratz (Pithead Studio)
• Jana Reinhardt (Rat King Entertainment)
• Wolfgang Schmitz (Ahoiii Entertainment)
• Manouchehr Shamsrizi (RetroBrain R&D)
• Mai-Vy Thach (Capcom)
• Martin Thiele-Schwez (Playing History)
• Anika Thun (Kalypso Media Group)
• Carolin Wendt (CD Projekt RED)

The jury will conduct a multi-stage selection process to identify the grant recipients, who will each receive €2,750 per month for 18 months to focus on the start-up phase of their businesses. Additionally, recipients will benefit from a training and networking program, as well as coaching to support their entry into the industry.

The goal is to notify all applicants—whether accepted or rejected—by Christmas. “The interest in the Games Start-Up Grant is overwhelming. This impressively demonstrates that start-up funding for game developers was urgently needed in the games industry,” said Felix Falk, Managing Director of game.